Food safety associate with physical contaminants

Poorly managed physical facilities contribute contamination of food as well as physical injuries to food handlers. Physical contamination happens when any object is found in food. This can be anything from a hair to band-aids to pieces of glass from a broken light bulb.

Food safety concerns associated with physical contaminants include:
*Choking (particularly young children)
*Cuts mouth and tongue
*Broken teeth
*Damage to the gastrointestinal system

Careful attention to physical hazards that many enter the food system at any point will prevent devastating consequences to both food consumers and food handlers.

The physical contamination of food during preparation and processing can take place in many ways. Detection methods are directed at identifying physical contamination and include a number of scanning systems: metal detector, bottle scanner, x-ray system
Food safety associate with physical contaminants

Physical contamination: safety and prevention

Physical contamination is foods are objects that under normal circumstances, should not be present in food products.

This can be anything from hair to band-aids to pieces of glass from a broken light bulb. Common contaminants include dirt, jewelry, writing utensils, glass, wood, metal, plastic, rubber, stones and insects.

The physical contamination of food during preparation and processing can take place in many ways. Detection methods are directed at identifying physical contamination and include a number of scanning systems:
*Metal detector
*Bottle scanner
*X-ray system

The visual inspection of products passing along a production line is still practiced in many food manufacturing operations.

Food safety concerns associated with physical contaminants include:
*Choking (particular young children)
*Cuts to the mouth and tongue
*Broken teeth
*Damage to the gastrointestinal system

In order to prevent physical contamination, action must be taken:
*Inspect food on delivery for signs of contamination
*Store and cover food property at all times
*Inspect all storage areas regularly for signs of pests or broken light bulbs
*Make sure that employees do not wear jewelry in food preparation areas
*Use hair restraints in all food preparation areas and in all food and equipment storage areas
*Avoid the sue of loose pens, paper or other supplies in food preparation areas
Physical contamination: safety and prevention 

Physical Hazard in Food Safety

Anything foreign to the food can be considered a physical hazard. Dust, dirt, hair, metal shavings and broken glass, for example, are items foreign to the original food and are considered harmful.

Physical hazards can enter a food product at any stage in its production.

There is huge variety of physical items that can enter food as foreign material and some of these are hazard to food safety.

Physical hazards include:
*Dirt
*Dust
*Hair
*Broken glass and crockery – it could cause an injury or choking of swallowed.
*Nails
*Staples
*Metal fragments and other objects that accidentally enter foods
*Foreign objects

The sources of physical hazards during food manufacturing and processing usually fall under one of the following categories:
*Incoming raw materials
*Processing equipment
*Failures in prerequisites programmes

In the past year, advances un technology have brought improvements in physical hazard control with the improved of metal detector capability, x-ray detection and vision sorters.

Improvements will continue and business should in the alert for new improved equipments.
Physical Hazard in Food Safety

Physical Hazards

Physical Hazards
Physical hazards are often described as extraneous matter or foreign objects and include any physical matter not normally found in food which may cause illness or injury to an individual. Government agencies may initiate regulatory action when they find adulterated foods (or food that are manufactured, packed or held under conditions whereby they may have become contaminated or rendered injuries to health). Thus the discovery of filth in a product may not by itself present an unacceptable health risk, but the conditions of manufacture, packaging or storage which permitted its entry present the unacceptable health risk. A food processor must therefore be aware of product adulteration by physical substances and address their control in its HACCP program.

The main physical hazards of concern are listed below:
*Glass
*Wood
*Stones
*Metal
*Insects
*Insulation
*Bone
*Plastic
*Personal effects

Methods involved in controlling physical hazards include raw material specifications and inspections along with vendor certification and guarantees. Effective pest control and foreign object removal from plant environment are also essential. Preventive maintenance and sanitation programme that maintain plant and equipment in proper order are necessary. Proper shipping, receiving, distribution and storage procedures as well as packaging material handling practices (particularly those involving glass) need to be evaluated for their potential to introduce hazards. Packaging should at least be tamper-evident. Finally, employee education and practices should involve knowledge and prevention of physical hazard introduction.
Physical Hazards